Mythology & Religion Power Ranking TOP100
This article introduces Rank 42: Erlang Shen from the “Mythology & Religion Power Ranking TOP100”, which ranks the gods, monsters, and heroes of world mythology, religion, and legend in order of strength.
If you want to see the full TOP100 list and the criteria behind the rankings, check out the overview article below.
Rank 42: Erlang Shen (Chinese Mythology, Taoism, Journey to the West)
Overview
Erlang Shen appears in Taoism and is known as the god of flood control. However, rather than his original role as a flood-control deity, it is his portrayal as Yang Erlang (Yang Jian) in works such as “Journey to the West” and “Investiture of the Gods” that is more commonly known in China.
In Journey to the West, when Sun Wukong staged a rebellion in Heaven, an army of 100,000 celestial soldiers and numerous gods were sent to capture him — but all were defeated. Ultimately, Erlang Shen, the greatest divine general in Heaven, led his forces to suppress the revolt.
There, he clashed fiercely with Sun Wukong and ultimately captured him.
During this battle, he saw through Sun Wukong’s transformations with his Heavenly Eye, and in direct combat the two were nearly equal, with Erlang Shen having a slight advantage. Like Sun Wukong, he can freely use the immortal arts of the “Seventy-Two Transformations” and the “Body Outside the Body” technique, making him formidable in both direct combat and cunning tactics.
Reason for This Ranking
Erlang Shen’s strength is greatly influenced in its evaluation by the fact that he “fought Sun Wukong in a direct confrontation and won.”
Technically, he did bring celestial forces, but the decisive battle against Sun Wukong was fully one-on-one — and since the fight was inconclusive until Sun Wukong recognized the disadvantage and fled, Erlang Shen can be considered roughly equal to Sun Wukong, with a slight edge.
However, the extent of his immortality compared to Sun Wukong is an unknown factor. His immortal arts have undoubtedly reached a level that realizes true immortality, and as the greatest divine general in Heaven, he may well have already consumed immortal peaches or golden pills of immortality — but his immortality is surely not on the same transcendent level as Sun Wukong’s.
Therefore, against higher-tier gods, there is a high likelihood he cannot perform as well as Sun Wukong — but by the standards of this ranking, I judged it appropriate to place him above Sun Wukong.
About the Book
I wrote a book that compiles this entire ranking! The reasoning behind each placement is grounded in the actual lore and episodes from each mythology, so I think it makes for a fairly convincing read.
The book also contains many columns and extras not published on this blog, so if you are interested, please check it out below.
📚 Series: Mythology Power Ranking (Individual Characters) (59/100)
